Rainey
and Stephi:  two of my favorite Mexican/Americans.  Thank God
these two have so much of their mother in them; they are so much
tougher than I am.  This pic was taken before prom last
spring.  Now Stephi will miss her senior prom because she will be
staying with Lorena in Mexico.  I am incredibly proud of these two
young ladies. 

Michael in Stephenville on yet another HOT day.  We are forecast to hit 105F again today, and
it has been almost a year since we had a real rain.  We have had a few showers with minimal
rainfall, but, by and large, we have had no precipitation at all.  Most of our lawn is gone, and the huge
sycamore tree in the back yard will probably not recover.  (All of our Stephenville water is supplied by
wells, and sometimes it seems as if it would be cheaper just to buy barrels of
crude oil and pour on our lawns than to irrigate.)  We are much drier now than we were last fall
when so much of Texas and Oklahoma burned, so we are all collectively
holding our breaths, praying that we get some rain before the fires begin
again.  I am so ready for this heat to
end.  Our lows at night have been in the
80’s for the last few weeks, with high temperatures in the 100’s..

I just got off the phone after a wonderful, powerful,
emotional conversation with Lorena.  Roberto was our moderator, and he is an
incredible nurse.  I will never be able
to repay Lorena’s caregivers for what they have done for her.  (Poor Roberto is extremely discomfited being
caught in the middle of our personal and emotional talks, so I get to tease him
that nursing school never prepared him for this.  He just laughs and apologizes.  He truly is an angel working in Lorena’s
life.)  Lorena is doing well, and
obviously her therapy is rewarding her marvelously.  (Carlos will forever be one of my
heroes.).  I was on the phone with Lorena
for over an hour, and we communicated more (and cried more) than we have for a
long, long time.  I desperately want to
hear her talk again, and I would gladly forfeit my own life if it would restore
her again.  But her improvement is
continuing, so I am elated by, and profoundly thankful for, each small step of
her progress. 

I have complained on here quite often of the frustration of
not receiving itemized bills for her care, so I asked her today if the status
quo is better for us (not being able to deduct her care costs from our taxes),
or if it would be better to deduct her costs. 
Lorena indicated that it is best for us to continue as we have
been.  She is the smartest person I know,
so you will not see any more whining about this issue on this blog.  (Do not misunderstand me.  I am an American, so not only will I complain
unceasingly on here about a myriad of things, but I will do so fervently
because that is one of the primary obligations of being a US citizen…) 

Communications with Lorena should improve remarkably.  Stephi is being tasked with reading this blog
and your comments to Lorena daily – and responding.  Furthermore, I have requested that Lorena
start communicating directly with you folks. 
I know it will be difficult and tiring for her (and will require much of
Steph), but it will be wonderful therapy for Lorena, and it would benefit both
her and you, especially those friends and family out there who have been unable
to maintain close contact with her.  [I
mentioned several of you by name today and reminded Lorena of how important it
is for both parties that YOU be able to communicate directly with HER – and she
cried heartbreakingly.  I hope you are
happy for making her cry, Jerome and Ruth and family, Bill and Kay and family, Nony
and Duane, Holly and Wade, Marty and Jim, Ana and Terry, Alice
and Sheila, Chanchai, Homer and Angel, Herb and Marion, and all the rest of you folks.  She loves you, and she needs that connection
with you again.]

I think it will be great to have Stephi down there with
Lorena.  It will be difficult for Stephi,
for me, and for Rainey and Lya because our girls are so close, but it will be
best for all of us concerned. 

I just want to thank all of you who travel on this arduous
journey with us.  I was amazed at how
many of you stuck with me during my hiatus from this forum.  Life has been hard this summer for many
reasons.  I am continually amazed anew at
how many WONDERFUL friends we have – and I am thankful for you beyond measure.  I am equally amazed at how many Xanga friends
we have gained, with several of you becoming very dear to me.  I know that there are many others who follow
our travails, and I would really like to welcome you.  This blog has hits worldwide, and I thank you
all.  (Someone in the Ukraine has
been a regular reader.  Please identify
yourself so you can become one of us. 
You are welcome anytime.) 

[By the way, can anyone explain our counter???  Before my blogging hiatus, the huge number of
hits this blog had amazed me and gave me incentive to plug on.  I now return to find a few hundred hits.  I am confused.  (Of course, I am ALWAYS confused, but you
know what I mean…)  Can anyone explain
this so that this idiot can understand?  ]

Several of you have asked how I like my new teaching
assignment.  I think it is going to prove
to be a real blessing at just the right time. 
I needed a change, and I think this was the change I needed.  I have great students.  The majority of them are young mothers who
are ACUTELY aware of the importance of that high school diploma now that they
are forced into the adult world – and they are intensely motivated.  It is going to be a good year. 

Thank you all again. 
Lorena’s miracle continues.  To
God be the glory.  Please pray for us all.

Michael in Stephenville. 
I have resolved to start keeping this blog again.  This summer has been long, hot, hard, dry,
frantic, and ever-changing.  I have not
had much time to blog, and I have tended to be too depressed to blog.  School is back in session, though, and the
blog is up and running again. 

First for some updates. 
Lorena is steadily improving.  I
haven’t seen it, so I don’t know exactly how it works, but the therapy table
from Austria
has been part of her therapy for much of the summer.  Using some sort of harness contraption on the
table, Carlos tilts Lorena up onto her feet, and she is, thereby, regaining
some use of her feet and legs.  That is
stupendously gratifying news, and I celebrate with her and for her.  She is the toughest, most dedicated,
hardest-working person I know, and I pray that she shows the doctors here in
the States to be fools for giving her no hope and no chance for
recuperation.  

An additional bombshell was dropped on me the other
day.  Even though this is her senior
year, Stephanie is going to live and go to school in Mexico this year.  She will fly out Thursday to live there in
the house with Lorena.  I face the
prospect of her leaving with bittersweet joy. 
Her presence will be great for Lorena who hasn’t gotten to see any of
her daughters grow up now for almost three years, and Stephanie will stimulate
Lorena in ways that her family cannot. 
Furthermore, this experience will be invaluable for Stephanie to be
immersed in Spanish and her Mexican heritage. 
But I will miss her terribly.   We
are frantically trying to get everything ready for her trip, including opening
a bank account here for her and Lorena so that she can withdraw funds in Mexico for the
two of them. 

This is especially poignant because yesterday was Stephanie’s
17^th birthday.  Big macho me
came into her bedroom before her alarm went off yesterday morning, lay down
beside her on her bed, snuggled up to her and held her as I was inundated with
a flood of memories of my little girl, and cried.  Then I sang “Happy Birthday” and “Las Mañanitas”
to her, talked to her about many of the memories I had of her growing up, told
her how proud I am of her and how much I love her, and then slunk away to mope
in the kitchen like some big sissy. 
Yesterday evening when I came home from school, I got to laugh at her
when she told me that she had had a dream in which I held her and sang Happy
Birthday to her and talked to her for a long time.  I love you, Toughie, and I am going to
reprise this letter to you.  Please read
it to your mother when you get to Mexico.

Dearest Stephanie: 

It seems like only
yesterday that Mommy told me that another baby was on the way to join us and
Rainey.  We were pretty new to
Stephenville, and we were very excited. 
Mommy was miserable that summer as you practiced your kung fu and karate
inside her.  Needless to say, you and she
were pretty close.  I dreamed huge,
wonderful, fantastic dreams for you as I would put my hand on her tummy to feel
you push and kick.  I had never seen you,
and I didn’t know you, but I felt incredible love for you,  Then came that unforgettable day in
mid-August when Mommy said it was time. 
We called Dory Gunn to come and stay with Rainey as I took Mommy to the
hospital – and my life changed completely. 
Soon I had another beautiful little lady in my life whom I loved more
dearly than life itself.

I have so many
memories of you Stephanie.  You would
ride in the baby carrier, sleeping on my chest as I carried you – and I was in
heaven feeling you sleeping or cooing or gurgling so close to my heart.  Later, you would ride in the back carrier,
jumping up and down as I carried you, bouncing me all over the sidewalk.  I would laugh at you, and my heart would
exult in your presence.  It seems as if I
walked all over Texas and Mexico with you jumping up and down on my back,
singing all the wonderful songs we used to sing together:  “Shortening Bread”, “ Shine on Harvest Moon”,
“Los Colores”, “La Zandunga” and the catalogue of other songs that we sang for
hours and hours.  Those are some of the
happiest memories of my life.  In my
lowest times, I bask in the glow of those wonderful memories of going with you to
get menudo, posole, tamales, pan dulces, churos, or roasted corn in Mexico.  I have spent countless hours watching my
mental movies of you playing at the beach. 
I have so many wonderful memories of so many wonderful times.  I remember (with desperate longing today) of
walking with you to McDonald’s to eat and then watching you play on their
little playground, of going to the park with you, and of holding your hands as
you walked on the stone walls around Tarleton or climbed on the Tarleton cannon.  Those were wonderful days, Stephanie, and I
shall treasure them forever…. 

Memories are
inundating me now.  Driving all over Texas and Mexico
with you singing in your car seat. 
Fishing with you and hiking with you and camping with you and loving
you, loving you, loving you.  Horsy rides
to bed at night with you, Rainey, and Lya all on my back.  Blowing on tummies and playing “land crab”
and “flying monster” as you laughed and screamed.  Laughing with you.  Laughing with you.  Laughing with you.  Nothing heaven can offer can possibly be
better than laughing with you.  One
evening earlier this year, Lya and I drove down Lillian Street, and we both commented on
how long it has been since I have walked a little girl along those walls.  I could cry when I think about those halcyon
days when your mother was well, and when I could hold you all and listen to you
laugh and sing.  I remember so vividly
you and Rainey (and then you and Rainey and Lya) putting on your little shows,
singing and dancing and laughing and having so much fun. Songs from Grease, Mary
Poppins, The Sound of Music, Veggie Tales…. 
My heart sang with you every time you sang.  I love you so much, Stephanie. 

There were the scary
times as well.  One of my living nightmares
was sitting in the hospital there in Tepic with you when you were about one
year old, and I can still vividly recall my feelings of impotence and fear as I
tried to comfort you as you struggled against the restraints that strapped you  to the “cross” so as to prevent you from pulling
out your I.V. tubes.  I hurt so much as I
prayed and cried for you.  I will always
remember that horrible night that I was there alone with you in that hospital
room when the fierce storm hit, threatening to blow the windows out of your
hospital room as roof tiles shattered down into the patio outside your room.  I knew that I would go crazy if you did not
get well.  And then there was the Henoch-Schonlein
Purpura when you turned into the purple monster covered with agonizing, itching
welts.  I hurt today  remembering you falling down the steps of the
old cathedral in Real de Catorce and hurting your leg so badly.   It seems in the dim and distant past  that we were going with you to get physical
therapy from Carlos, long before we knew what a permanent and important fixture
he was going to be in our lives as he struggled to help your mother after her
stroke. 

I love you,
Stephi.  You are beautiful.  You are talented.  You are gifted.  You are funny.  You are witty.  You are a wonderful friend.  You are smart.  You have a beautiful voice, a lovely smile,
and a heartwarming laugh.  I miss the
times I used to have with you.  Even
after Mommy’s stroke, I miss the new you that I came to know and love.  When I came back from Mexico as the battered
wreck that I was, I will always remember holding you and crying, thinking how
blessed I am to have you as a daughter. 
You are a fantastic person, and I love you with all of my being.

I love you, Stephanie
LeeAnn Thomas.  I am proud of you, I pray
a long, healthy, happy life for you, and I pray especially hard that I die
before any of you ladies in my life… You are the closest things to heaven that
I can know on this earth.

 Forever,

 Daddy

Nony Godwin sent me the following message.  Perhaps you have
received it in an email.  Whatever your history with it might be,
please read it and act on your knowledge.  Ironically, several
years ago, Lorena was on the phone with one of my aunts even as my aunt
suffered a stroke.  My aunt, working alone at her office, 
was slurring her words and was verging on incoherence.  We called
my uncle who went to the office and found her down, whereupon he called
for an ambulance.  My aunt has regained her independence, but she
is nowhere close to being the brilliant, active woman she was.  I
have often wondered how things might have turned out differently had we
called 911 immediately upon observing the symptoms.  However, at
the time, stroke was the farthest thing from our minds; it was
something that happened to other families and other people. 
Little did we know...  Anyway, please read this and use it. 
The possibility of being mistaken and "offending" someone is far
outweighed by the chance that you might save someone's quality of life,
which, in this case, is of more importance than saving the life itself.

                                          
  STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During
a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall.  She assured
everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and had
just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her
cleaned up and got her a new plate of food.  She appeared a bit
shaken up, but Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the
evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife
had been taken to the hospital.  At 6:00pm, Ingrid passed
away.  She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to
identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.
Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
It
only takes a minute to read this...

A
neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can
totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting
a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for
within 3 hours, which is tough.
                                             
RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank
God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes
symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of
awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when
people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke
Now
doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple
questions:

                  
S
*       Ask
the individual to SMILE. 
                  
T *        Ask
the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE   (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today.)

                  
R
*        Ask
him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

   
NOTE
: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the
person to 'stick' out their

                
tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other

                 
that is also an indication of a stroke. 
If
he or she has trouble with

                 
ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately !! and describe the

                 
symptoms to the dispatcher.

The statement that a neurologist can totally reverse the effects of
a stroke completely if able to treat the patient within three hours is
at best hyperbole and at worst an outright lie.  That depends
entirely on the type of stroke.  I witnessed Lorena's stroke, and
we called 911 immediately.  She was having medical care with a few
minutes and was in a major trauma center within an hour after having
been CareFlited to Fort Worth.  Even so, her neurologists were
amazed that she had even survived that long, and they held out
absolutely no hope of reversing the stroke.  In fact, they saw her
survival to be miraculous.  Many stroke victims could be saved,
however, with prompt medical attention.  No one should have to go
through this hell.

Answers to
prayer:

~ The Lord
continues to bless my friendship with Reaiah; we get along so well and keep
each other laughing all the time

~ we have spent a
lot more time with the women in our compound and our relationships with them
are growing slowly as our language progresses

~ our family is
beginning to see that we aren’t like the Americans they have seen in movies or
heard about; we have had several chances to talk to friends about God, prayer,
and modesty

~I’m developing a
taste for rice three times a day and don’t even mind the slime so much anymore

             ******

Continue to
pray for…

~ language
learning and more friends to talk with

~ our
relationship with our village family: that we will be a blessing to them as
they have generously taken us in and that we will show them with our lives that
we serve and honor God

~ our
relationship with God while in the village: that we will be listening for all
He wants to show us

For those of you who have followed the adventures of my ex-student K in Africa, I need to do some updating:

Michael in Stephenville.  I had a wonderful telephone call from Lorena last night with her nurse Roberto as the moderator.  [He is GREAT!]  She had spelled out a whole list of things, some of which were wonderful, some of which were mundane "honey do's", and some of which excoriated me.  All of them were great, though, because she was COMMUNICATING with me.  It is so incredibly disheartening to almost always talk AT her and almost never WITH her, guessing that she really understands the gist of what we are saying, never receiving any more explanation or elucidation beyond "uh-huh" and "uh-uh" [and all too often not clearly able to understand just which of those is her intended response, never able to comfort her when she cries, and never able to ascertain exactly why she is crying when she cries -- or why she sometimes laughs inappropriately to what we say?  (Did she understand?  Was the laughter sardonic?  Does she actually see something humorous in it?)  It is so indescribably wonderful to have her actually communicate with us.

We are supposed to call back again tonight.  Some of her most spectacular is that the therapy table has arrived from England, and the therapists are now standing her up.  That is so fantastic.  She is making incredible advances.  Thank God.

Dena, who had received the forward from Melanie, sent me the following email that I think might well serve a purpose on here.  She is a computer tech, so she loved it.  I am a computer idiot, but I like it as well.  Sorry I cannot credit it to its creator:

 Installing Love  
 
Tech Support:  Yes, ... how can I help you?

Customer:         Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer:        Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support:  The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer:        Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ?

Customer:        Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support:   No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer   disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer:        I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer:        Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer:     &nbs p;  Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program runs on external components."  What should I do?  

Tech Support:  Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer:        So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files:   Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer:        Okay, done.

Tech Support:  Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will   overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer:        Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support:  Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet They will in turn share it with others and return some cool   modules back to you.

Customer:      Thank you God.

We are home again, and I am fighting the doldrums.  We called
Lorena last night and talked to her.  She sounded well, but
there was no active moderator, so our "conversation" was very
one-sided.  And very sad.

Today is our 22nd U.S. anniversary.  (I was in at Lake
Catherine outside Hot Springs for our Mexican anniversary.)  It is
so difficult not to be able to converse in any true sense
with Lorena, and this is compounded by the inability to
really be able to confide in her, but I miss her terribly.  The
vacation was good as far as getting away from here for awhile was
concerned, but it really reinforced how much I miss Lorena because I
wanted to share everywhere I went and all I saw and experienced with
her.  That made coming back home very difficult.

This is the first time in over ten years that I have not gone to
Mexico for at least part of the summer, and I miss those folks as
well.  Rafael and Chris were so instrumental in our marriage (and
it is ALL Chris's fault!!!) and I miss them dearly.  [Ben is in
California, so it seems that that contact is completely missing --
and I feel very guilty because it seems that I never see Ben when he is
here.]  Susan and Alfonso have provided guidance, a home away
from home, and seventy-five thousand meals for the
girls.  Margarita and Roberto have also provided us with
lodging many times, and this summer seems empty without them. 
Alma and Ernesto, Jorge and Chela, Angie and Rick, Ramón and Linda (who
provided me some invaluable insights to life in Tepic and the Aguilars
early on.)  I miss them all, but part of me died on March 9, 2004.

On July 21, 1984, though, Lorena and I were "legally"
married at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Holder, Texas,
[after having been illegally married in La Iglesia del
Sagrada Corazón by an unorthodox priest in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, on
July 7.]  We spent the night at Jerome and Ruth Smith's house at
Holder.  Prissy McBride sang at the ceremony with the rite of
marriage administered by Rev. Everett Yeilding -- who would later hold
the funeral services for both my grandmother's, George Boyd, both my
parents, my sister Jane, and far too many other friends and relatives
before he, in his turn, joined them.  My memories of this day
are so incredibly bittersweet, and so much has changed since then.

The service was especially remarkable in that the ceremonial
highlight featured me trying to put the wedding ring on the wrong
finger until Lorena corrected me in a highly-accented stage
whisper that tickled the witnesses.  The post ceremonial
highlights occurred when little sister Gina (who was truly a LITTLE
sister then) ran up to tell Lorena something -- and inadvertently
spilled her glass of red Kool-aid down the front of Lorena's
newly-cleaned wedding gown.  (Remember that, Gina???)

Last night I told Lorena I know it hasn't been a happy anniversary
for me (and I am sure not for her), but I wished her one,
nonetheless.  If I had it to do all over again, I would, but with
some major changes.  I would spend more time with her and less
time with school work and with "busywork" around the house.  I
would do things, go places, and see things with her instead of planning
to do that "someday" when she graduated and we had more money.  I
would do everything I could to make her life as easy as possible. 
And I feel so guilty because I didn't do that when I had the
chance.  I would marry her again, though, in a heartbeat.  I
love you, and I miss you, Lorena. 

This weekend is going to be difficult, as well.  It had looked
as if there was not to be a Smith Reunion this year because of Dena's
illness, but Ruth and Jerome scrambled to organize one, so I will be
out of pocket again the next couple of days, renewing acquaintances
down in Llano, Texas.  Part of me is extremely excited about the
prospect of getting to see the folks who will be there this weekend,
but part of me is just depressed because my "family" won't be
there.  Lya is going down with Steve and Julie.  Stephi and I
will probably go down with Dena and her family. 

Anyway, thank you so much for your cards, letters, and emails.  Lorena continues to improve.  We love you.

Michael and the locas in the public library in Bluffton, South Carolina (@ $2.00 per hour Internet access.)  Folks, I am so sorry to have been out of touch, but I will fill you in with details later.  Suffice it to say that Dena, my sister, had a couple of vacation sites booked and asked the girls and me to accompany her. 

First, I had to drive a friend's rental car to Michigan, so we left whenever it was (I have lost all track of time), drove 24 hours to Michigan, then turned around a drove back.  That took me through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Arkansas.  Then we loaded up and drove up to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where we spent a week in a condo Dena had rented on Lake Catherine in the Ouachita Mountains.  From there we drove through Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina to Hilton Head where Dena had rented a condo.  We have spent the last week there, half of that with little sis Gina (Fyestygoat) and Brad who drove down from Roanoke, Virginia, to meet us.  We have now started the return trip to Texas.

The trip has been great.  I had not realized how isolated I had become, living desperately from moment to moment and missing out on much of my life with the girls.  I miss Lorena and the folks in Mexico, but for the last three years all our "vacations" have been down there visiting Lorena -- and those are not vacations.  We would spend, at the most, part of one day at the beach.  The rest of the time we would be visiting with Lorena when we could.  Other than that, we would be waiting while Lorena was in therapy or was being fed or was being bathed or whatever.  The trips were really tough on all of us, so it has been great to really get away and to relax.

Rainy has been tasked with calling Mom and reporting on here, but it looks as if that has fallen through the cracks.  I will fill you in on our adventures later (as soon as I can), but I wanted to let you know that we are all well -- and much better.  We love you.

Michael in Stephenville.  WE ARE ALL FINE.  LORENA IS GREAT.  WE CALLED HER LAST NIGHT AND HAD A VERY GOOD VISIT.  I WILL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN.  I have not had time to post of answer emails, and I know that many of you have been concerned.  We are all fine.  Long story, but I will fill you in later.  We love you all.

hey this is lya
     i would like to tell yall (yes i know my hick
is showing) that i have never had a more moving time ever at a church
camp then i did this week.it  was a great place to be i had tons
of fun with all of my friend i even made some more friends. every night
we would have a devotional and every night i  would end up
crying,it makes you realize that  not all people have great lives
some are just as bad as yours.it makes you realize also that,after
you've had an experience like mine,there are other people out there
with the same scenario. it also makes you believe more and more and
more and it makes you want to know more and more and more about the
word of god.i would just like to end this with a thank you for all who
have prayed for our family and again thank you
lya